Disclaimer: I don't own TVD.

Spoiler: One of Phoebe's previous lives will take control of her body. There'll be shifts between first and third-person when an incarnation other than Phoebe is in control.

"Italics" speaking in latin


"Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo clock style of architecture." – Ernest Hemingway


Chapter 21: Artemisia De Leoni

May 2007

If anyone ever wondered where JK Rowling got her idea for a bank run by goblins where wizards keep their gold, look no further than the many banks of Switzerland. The land of the Swiss isn't just the land of banks for human billionaires but also the location of Geestenbank, where centuries-old vampires and wealthy witch bloodlines hide their wealth from humans.

Geestenbank is the oldest bank in the world, older than even the start of modern banking. No one truly knows who owns Geestenbank. To the human world, it is an old and wealthy human family - the Aldebrands - involved in international investment banking, merchant banking, and wealth management for the uber-rich. But to the supernaturals, it is either a powerful immortal witch or one of the oldest vampires in the world.

The vampire theory has more credibility than the witch theory because most vampires don't trust witches and only a vampire would be able to give the security and trust that Geestenbank has in the supernatural community.

Many older vampires are old European royalty or nobility and would need a place to keep their wealth and manage their estates as they move from place to place around Europe. Geestenbank provided that service. As banking evolved, its services did as well. In the modern-day, Geestenbank not only invests the wealth of the vampires into modern human businesses but also offers changes in identity for vampires all over the world.

Even witches from ancient bloodlines keep their wealth, family histories, and grimoires for their descendants in Geestenbank.

Geestenbank has two facades: the public face that caters to humans and the deep underground vault that services the supernaturals.

After giving the clerks my password, a middle-aged vampire came to greet me with a bow. "Miss Medea Fitzdei, this way please." Medea Fitzdei is my name to the supernatural world. Enzo, Lora, Matt, Ria, Caroline, and Jenna all share the Fitzdei surname since we bound ourselves together last year.

I turned on my toes as the old vampire led me toward the elevator. After the door closed, we stood facing the mirror enchanted with magic at the back of the elevator. "This way, please." He held a hand out to me. "I must hold your hand."

"Of course." I placed my hand in his and we stepped forward, through the mirror into another gilded hallway. The moment I passed through the barrier separating the human and supernatural services, I understood the true nature of Geestenbank. The space was so full of magic and supernatural beings that the charms on my bracelet jingled violently against my wrist.

While rumors flew through the supernatural world about whether it was witches or vampires who controlled the bank, I knew it had to be both. I could sense the powerful magic beneath my feet. The land the bank was built on was consecrated ground. Generations of dead witches were buried on the grounds and their residual magic fueled the wards and the spells cast by the living witches. The Geestenbank building was the home of a powerful coven of witches, who have been working with vampires for generations. It would not be surprising if the old vampires working in the bank were also once witches who turned throughout the centuries.

The vampire led me to a private office covered from floor to ceiling in stained wooden panels with red accents. He pulled out a chair for me. "Thank you," I said as I sat on the cushion.

He walked around to the other side of the desk but remained standing. "Welcome to Geestenbank. We are honored to have you with us. How can I be of service, Miss Fitzdei?" He sat down.

"It's come to my attention that, over the past few centuries, several of my ancestors were patrons of this bank. I know for a fact that after their deaths, their assets would remain in your vaults. I've come here to have them all consolidated under my family name."

"Of course." The smile never left the man's face. "However, you must know that we will have to test if you can access the accounts using your magical signature. I'm sure you know that witches of the same bloodlines have similar magical signatures. The blood test will verify your relation to our patrons."

"I understand."

"May I have their names, please?" He shifted to face the computer monitor with his fingers at the ready on the keyboard.

I pulled out a piece of paper from my bag with the names of my previous incarnations who've used the services of Geestenbank.

He took the list of names and began typing on his computer. "One moment, please." He worked silently on his computer, glancing at me every so often. We waited in silence for several minutes before a knock came at the door.

"Enter."

A young woman, a witch this time, entered the room. She greeted me and placed a tray of bloodstones, cut into palm-sized flat rectangles, on the desk before me. She unfolded a white napkin to reveal a small scalpel. "Please cut your finger and let the blood drip onto each of the stones."

I took the silver blade and sliced open the pad of my index and let a drop of blood fall onto each one of the bloodstones. The vampire and the witch exchanged a confused glance when every one of the bloodstones shimmered. "Give us a moment, please ma'am," said the vampire before leaving me alone in the room.

Even though I've been reincarnating for over the past five thousand years, not every incarnation awakened their magic. Of those who had, not all of them were born in or near the European continent, and an even smaller number were born a member of the wealthy aristocracy with access to Geestenbank in the centuries since its inception.

In my reincarnation cycle, for every year I live on Earth, I must spend a complimentary year in Hades. Over the past 5000 years, I've only been reborn a total of 29 times, including my current incarnation. In some incarnations, I lived for centuries, while in some others, I lived a short life, barely making it into my teens. I never liked to think about it, but the short and long lives I lived and all the painful and painless deaths were necessary for me to obtain the power I have. Throughout it all, my magical signature remained the same.

In the past thousand years, I've lived nine other lives: Nastya Nikolayevna, Lotte, Artemisia De Leoni, Guinevere Elijahsdottir, Jane Smith, Maria Fortuna, Marianne Goode, Valeria De Castillo Y Regalo, Hellene De Valois La Fontaine, and Marie De Moїse. Several of them were born in the aristocracy and five left their great wealth in Geestenbank.

With my magical identification, I would be able to access it all to fund projects that I would not have been able to with just my investments and my inheritance.

A jolt of electricity crawled up my spine. I knew it was possible, as I had been one many times before in my previous lives, but I had never come close to one in this life. Hemagoi: Vampire-Mage hybrid. It was old, powerful, and slightly familiar. Family magic. The old vampire who was coming down the hall felt like family to me. As though they could easily be Ria or Matt.

My heart ached and skipped a beat before everything vanished in a flash of white.


Her brown eyes flashed and flickered between brown and purple before settling on a glowing violet. She sat up, her back straight against the chair, her ankles crossed, with her palms resting flat on her lap. She waited as his familiar magical signature approached.

She turned around just as the door opened, her violet eyes meeting his light brown ones. He stopped when their eyes locked. His brow furrowed in confusion when he saw the ethereal color of her eyes. His eyes scanned her body, analyzing her posture and micro-expressions in a matter of nanoseconds. His eyes returned to her face. She wasn't smiling but there was a small upward curve to her lips, reminiscent of the noble ladies of the past.

He wasn't sure what he was looking at but his instincts told him that he knew her. This woman before him, whom he had never seen before, was familiar to him. He could tell she was a mage, but why did she feel so familiar to him? As though he stood before his sister? But it was impossible. Wasn't it? But over the past nine centuries, he'd learned that nothing was impossible.

The witch and vampire who had gone to fetch him stood behind him, just beyond the door, his large body obstructing their view of the young woman. "Leave us alone. I will take care of this," he told them in Romansh. Not taking his eyes off her, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

She closed the distance between them, taking his hands in hers. She released her magic as he released his, letting them entangle with one another. Their magic danced together, recognizing each other as family, as they rested silently in one another's presence. She closed her eyes and brought her forehead to rest against his as she had always done centuries before whenever they reunited.

"Tamdin te vidi, soror," he said in Latin, their mother tongue. ("It has been so long since I have seen you, sister.")

"Non sentit sicut solum momenta elapsis ex quo novissime vidi te, Emiliano, frater meus." ("It feels as though only moments have passed since I last saw you, Emiliano, my brother.")

The two siblings pulled away, the older sister pulling her brother by the hand to the pair of chairs in front of the desk. Emiliano watched his sister's face as she took in her surroundings with a small smile on her lips. Her face was different but the magic in his blood told him that she was family, that she was his sister. "Artemisia, I do not understand. How are you here? In that young woman's body?"

"This is the body of my current incarnation. I believe it is the eighth since we last saw one another."

"Why did you not tell me, soror? I only came because this woman requested to consolidate your assets with others in our vaults. Does that also mean those women were also your past incarnations?"

Artemisia nodded. "I did not know my status as an Old Soul and Reincarnation. The goddess did not allow us to know of one another's existence unless it was absolutely necessary. Now, it is necessary. Gaia seeks to destroy us."

"The Mikaelsons," Emiliano replied.

"Yes. Although she-" she motioned to her body "-cannot know of them yet." She looked into her younger brother's eyes. "Should the Mikaelsons die, all who share their blood will die with them."

"How?"

"It was the nature of the spell cast that made them. Whether we like it or not, 'we are bound forever to those with whom we share blood'." Although Elijah spoke those words in reference to his siblings, the same words were also accurate in relation to the thousands of vampires who share their blood.

"Elijah seeks to kill his brother. He believes Niklaus dropped their siblings in the sea."

Artemisia simply raised a brow. "Truly? Then he is a fool. We both know the thing Niklaus fears more than betrayal is being abandoned by his siblings. He would never kill them. It would only result in him being left alone, always and forever, as he has always feared."

Emiliano nodded. He and Artemisia knew the Originals well. They lived with the family for years.

Emiliano De Leoni and Artemisia De Leoni were born to a noble family in the Kingdom of Italy. The two young Magi knew little of the power they held in their blood as they had no teacher. Artemisia met Rebekah Mikaelson at the age of sixteen in 1110. The two girls became fast friends. While Rebekah was looking to find a man to love and marry, Artemisia wished to flee to the other side of the world whenever a man approached her with the intent to marry. Yet, only a few days after meeting, they spoke and laughed together as they walked the streets arm in arm as though they had been friends for a century.

Artemisia had been born noble. Less than a year before, she and her six-year-old brother lost their parents and became wards of their greedy relatives. Artemisia's younger brother, Emiliano, the heir to the De Leoni family fortune, became a prisoner in his own home, and Artemisia was betrothed without her input. She did not scream or shout or fight. She simply returned to her room to think of a plan to save herself and her brother.

Her instincts told her to go to Rebekah. Ever since she was a small child, she always had strong instincts due to her magic so, in the dead of night, she rode a horse out to Rebekah's home. Some of Rebekah's brothers, especially the older two thought it improper of her, while the younger two could care less for her, but compassionate Rebekah welcomed her.

Artemisia knew nothing of vampires other than what the Brotherhood of the Five Hunters had shown in their theatrical executions. She did not know her friend was a vampire until she showed her true face, with bloodshot eyes, bulging veins, and fangs. Rebekah needed no convincing to allow Artemisia a portion of her blood before snapping her friend's neck.

Before dawn, the De Leoni family estate ran red with the blood of Artemisia's relatives. The young Emiliano had no fear when he held onto his sister's bloody hand when she brought him out of his prison. His magic still recognized her as family. After they regained all that was rightfully theirs, they returned to the Mikaelsons. Artemisia thanked her friend for the power to protect her family. Kol was the one to recognize Emiliano and Artemisia's status as Magi and took them as his students, teaching the two magic.

Artemisia and Emiliano were away from the Mikaelson home when the hunters attacked. They only saw the aftermath: the hunters dead, Rebekah in tears, and Klaus cursed. With magic, the siblings were able to manage Klaus's curse, putting him to sleep whenever he lashed out in his madness, placing a boundary spell to keep him in his room, and slowing the effects of the curse on his mind. It was Artemisia who discovered the nature of the origin of the Hunters and the nature of their curse. The search also brought her to the origins of the immortality spell and the doppelgangers' appearance once every 500 years. She gave him hope that another Doppelganger would be born in a few centuries and he would be able to break the curse binding his wolf.

In 1147, 37 years and 5 months after he was cursed, Artemisia and Emiliano found the next potential Hunter and made him kill a vampire to break Klaus' curse. They, then, compelled a human to kill the hunter so they would not be burdened with the Hunter's Curse.

It later came time for the Mikaelsons to move on from Italy so their father would not track them down. Artemisia and Emiliano separated from their friends. While the Mikaelsons moved on, the two siblings established what would later become known as Geestenbank to manage the Mikaelsons' lands and gold left in Italy. And throughout the years, whenever they needed to run quickly from the Destroyer, it was Geestenbank who protected their assets.

Although a vampire, Artemisia still belonged to the goddess and was, first and foremost, a Magi. She died painfully of Cosmos Blackshaw poisoning with her brother at her bedside at the age of 59. Rebekah attended her friend's funeral, which took place in the Swiss Alps, where her body, frozen at sixteen, was burned and cast to the winds. Fifty-nine years on earth resulted in fifty-nine years of recovery in Hades until she was reborn once more and placed in the path of the Mikaelsons.

In 1001, a spell was cast that froze five siblings in eternal death. The blood of the priestess became a part of the spell that made them into vampires. Ninety-three years before Artemisia De Leoni was born, the gods bound the Reincarnator to the Originals. And she would be bound to them until the end of everything.

"I meet the two brothers on occasion. I still manage their assets but I take no sides," Emiliano said.

"Good. Do nothing, brother. We both know it is best to remain on the sidelines when it comes to the Mikaelson family feuds." Artemisia and Emiliano had identical smiles on their faces as they remembered the legendary confrontations between the Mikaelson siblings in the days they lived together. She missed them. When they would be reunited, sooner or later, it would not be her present, it would be Phoebe. Artemisia was dead and the Mikaelsons were no longer her friends.

She reached over and grasped her brother's hand. "She has a plan to reunite them." She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his as she caressed his magic with her own. "I have missed you, little brother."

"And I, you, sister."

There was an ache in her heart. "She is strong. She is displeased with my sudden possession of her body. She fights for control. After today, it is likely that you will never see me again." Her eyes flashed between violet and brown. "But, know this, my brother, I will still see you through her eyes. And she will protect you." Her voice overlapped with Phoebe's in a soft echo. "Blood or not, she is fiercely loyal to those she considers family. And you are my family." She pulled away and sat back against the chair with her eyes closed.

Emiliano released her hand with tears in his eyes before he left the room.

When her eyes opened again, they reverted to their original brown color.


The room came back into focus. Everything looked the same but I could feel something was different. Other than the longing in my chest, my toes hurt as though I had been in the heels longer than I should be. The clock mounted on the wall showed an hour had passed since I entered the room. I only spent a few minutes with the vampire and the witch.

How did I lose an hour of time? It'd been years since I lost any time due to a blackout. The last time was when I unlocked the Soul Memory.

I stood up and turned abruptly when I heard the door open behind me. The Hemagoi. It was the same old magic I sensed before.

"Miss Fitzdei, welcome."

He stood tall with his dark hair neatly swept back. The suit was obviously tailored with how well it fit around the curves of his body. He had dark brown eyes and tan skin with a face that looked like a young Al Pacino.

He carried himself with an upright posture and confidence in his strength and posture like many older vampires I've met. He had a powerful aura with his magic slowly flowing around his body. Our magic danced around each other, each of us releasing and absorbing the power around us in a convection flow.

My skin prickled and my heart ached as I lost myself in the man's eyes, which seemed to show recognition and… something else. I had never seen him before but, to him, it was definitely not our first meeting. What is it about his eyes…? Is it longing? Maybe sadness?

His power flowed easily into my body as though I was unconsciously welcoming him into my very soul. It wasn't violating or forceful but I still felt uncomfortable allowing a part of this stranger so deep inside me. It was too intimate for a person I had never met before. I pushed my magic just above my skin in a thin layer to keep his magic out. A look of disappointment flashed in his eyes when he realized what I had done, but he kept his composure and quickly regained his friendly business-like demeanor.

I exhaled and collected myself. "Yes. Hello." I swallowed. "Is there a problem? The man and the woman left."

"No, there is no problem. Your magical signature in your blood was identical to several of our previous clients who have passed away. They were uncertain as to how to proceed so they summoned me." He extended his hand out to me. "Emiliano De Leoni. I am the founder and chairman of Geestenbank. It is my pleasure to have you doing business with us."

I shook his hand. "The pleasure is all mine. And thank you for having me." It wasn't unexpected but it was still unnerving to read him when our skin touched. He felt like family. Family in a past life. I removed my hand from his and sat back down in the chair. He sat on the other chair beside me. "Is there a problem with my request?"

"No." He looked at me with a small smile on his lips. "After all, everything that belonged to those women belongs to you."

Seriously, all the sinking feelings, the heartaches, and the surprises are going to give me indigestion.

He knew. The familiarity, the blackout, and the sadness and longing in his eyes. I knew it but I didn't want to acknowledge it. I never wanted it to happen in the first place. One of the previous incarnations took possession of my body.

Emiliano De Leoni. Artemisia De Leoni. My… Her brother.

"You know what I am?"

"Yes."

"Did you see your sister today?"

"Yes."

"I'm happy for you. I can't imagine what it was like to have been without her for so many centuries." I turned in the chair to meet his eyes. "But please know this: so long as I have a say, this will not happen again. Artemisia has lived her life. It's time for me to live mine."

He smiled sadly but nodded. "I understand. I would never seek to have my sister take over your life. As you said, my sister has lived her life and she has been dead for centuries. I love her more than anything but I've mourned and moved on. Before today, I never believed it to be possible for me to see her again. I am not your brother and you are not my sister, but I am still happy to have met you. Please, should you need anything of me, do not hesitate to ask."

I sat back in my chair. I did not expect him to be so understanding. Older vampires due to their age and the strength that comes with it, tend to be overbearing when it comes to having their way. But he expected nothing from me and even offered his help. "Well, thank you." I smiled.

He returned the smile and his body relaxed. "I can tell you practice the craft. I have a large library of grimoires. I would love it if you would accept a few as a gift. And your… predecessors have several stored in your accounts. I can have them hand-delivered to your hotel."

"Thank you."

"From now on, I will personally handle the management of your assets. I will move all your assets into one account, which will also include the lands and estates of your predecessors."

"Yes, but I want two accounts. One to manage my legal inheritance as Phoebe Amelia Donovan and the other under my supernatural identity, Medea Fitzdei. Phoebe's lawyer and financial advisor will contact you and send over the portfolio." We didn't speak of Artemisia or any of my incarnations after that. For the rest of the afternoon, we worked together to consolidate the accounts over the past thousand years into one under the name Medea Fitzdei. We made plans to expand Silver Moon House into a supernatural school and the influence of the Fitzdei family businesses throughout the supernatural world. We made plans to manage the lands and estates of my previous incarnations as some would go up for sale while the rest would be used to gain more wealth. We planned to create separate asset portfolios for the members of my family, but without them present to sign the document, the discussion was tabled for the moment.

We spent hours working together in the office until I found everything to be satisfactory. I kissed him goodbye and he offered me a car service to return me to my hotel.

Not long after I arrived, a delivery of grimoires came to my door.

I had accomplished all I needed to in Switzerland. By dawn the next morning, I was on a high-speed train to Spain.


In many ways, I feel like the writers want Mystic Falls and New Orleans to exist in a vacuum. It doesn't make sense for entire species to hate each other. There's gonna be some individuals in different parts of the world who prefer working together rather than always being hostile to one another.